-
Mehran Sahami
CS 106A
CS 106A
—
General
Information
Handout #1
September 24,
2007
Professor: Mehran Sahami
Based on a handout by Eric Roberts
Head TA: Ben Newman
Class web page
The web page
for CS 106A is located at
/class/cs106a/
.
You can also
reach that webpage via the simpler URL:
/
.
You should regularly
check the class web site for announcements and
other information,
including the most
up-to-the-date information on assignments and
errata. The class web
page will also
have links to other class materials including
electronic copies of class
handouts and
assignment files.
Discussion sections
In addition to lecture, you must also
sign up for a weekly 50-minute section. In order
to
take CS 106A, you must sign up for a
section between 5:00
P
.
M
. Thursday,
September
27th and 5:00
P
.
M
. Sunday,
September 30th
.
The signup
form will be available on the
web at
the URL
/section/
.
After a matching
process,
your section assignments will
be e-mailed out to you. Sections begin the second
week of
classes (i.e., the week
starting October 1st).
Special note on
discussion sections for SCPD students
If you are an SCPD student, you are
automatically enrolled in the SCPD discussion
section which meets on Fridays from
1:15-2:05
P
.
M
. in Skilling
Auditorium (if you would
like to come
to campus) and is bro
adcast live on
SITN channel E2 (for remote viewing).
Section leaders and course helpers
CS106A provides extensive assistance
for students. Section Leaders and Course Helpers
are available from Sunday through
Thursday evenings each week in Tresidder LaIR to
help with assignments. Check the web
site
/
and click
on
the
Units
If you are an undergraduate, you are
required to take CS 106A for 5 units of credit. If
you
are a graduate student, you may
enroll in CS 106A for 3 units if it is necessary
for you to
reduce your units for
administrative reasons. Taking the course for
reduced units does
not imply any change
in the course requirements.
–
2
–
Texts and handouts
There are
two required texts for this class, both of which
are available from the Stanford
Bookstore. The first is a course reader
entitled
Karel the Robot Learns
Java
—
a 35-page
tutorial that introduces the major
concepts in programming in the context of an
extremely
simple robot world. The
second is the textbook
The Art and
Science of Java
by Eric
Roberts. In addition to these texts, we
will also distribute additional material in the
form
of class handouts. After class,
any extra copies of the handouts will be placed in
the
handout bins in the entryway to the
Gates B-wing. The handouts are also available in
PDF
?
format on
the CS 106 web site. If you miss a handout in
class, you can print your
own copy from
the web.
Email
Having an
email account is a requirement for this course.
E-mail accounts are available
to all students at Stanford through
LaIR. Information on obtaining an account is
available
at the Tresidder
computer cluster, from your Resident Computer
Consultant, or via the
web
att
/
.
++
+
+
–
–
––
Programming assignments
As
you can see from the syllabus, there will be seven
assignments (Assignment 1
–
Assignment 7). The assignments will
become slightly more difficult and require more
time as the quarter progresses. Thus,
the later assignments will be weighed slightly
more
than the earlier ones.
Except for Assignment #7 (which is due at the very
end of the
quarter), each assignment is
graded during an interactive, one-on-one session
with your
section leader, who rates it
according to the following scale:
An absolutely fantastic submission of
the sort that will only come along a few times
during the quarter. To ensure that this
score is given only rarely, any grade of ++ must
be
approved by the instructor and TA.
Since your section leader would almost certainly
want to show off any assignment worthy
of a ++, this review process should not be too
cumbersome.
A submission
that exceeds our standard expectation for the
assignment. The program
must reflect
additional work beyond the requirements or get the
job done in a particularly
elegant way.
A submission that satisfies all the
requirements for the
assignment
—
a job well done.
A submission that meets the
requirements for the assignment, possibly with a
few small
problems.
A
submission that has problems serious enough to
fall short of the requirements for the
assignment.
A submission
that has extremely serious problems, but
nonetheless shows some effort
and
understanding.
A submission that shows
little effort and does not represent passing work.
From past experience, we
expect most grades to be + and . Dividing the
grades into
categories
means that your section leader can spend more time
talking about what you